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DOROTHY
The Way
Roc Nation

Get ready for a chaotic journey of redemption and salvation! DOROTHY has released her 4th album in 10 years, the last being in 2022. The Way is one that I didn't want to stop listening to halfway through. Let me say this before getting too far into my thoughts on this album; It's perfectly ok to like fk'n country music and rock music. I say this time and time again. We do not have to pigeon hole our musical tastes. This album has heavy rock, soulful southern rock along with outlaw country, the perfect unification of so many influences brought to fruition. If you have followed Dorothy Martin for any length of time you know she started as a country artist. Dorothy's voice can do anything. She is a mixture of Lzzy Hale (HALESTORM) and Amy Lee (EVANESCENCE) and dare I say some old school Patti Smith and Janis Joplin. I personally would love to see a collaboration between Dorothy and Ashley McBryde. Dorothy is one of those artists that I'm confident has a list of artists from several genres waiting to work with her. The Way has 10 tracks and the band quite honestly nailed each one. Slash teamed up on one of the tracks and for Dorothy it was a dream moment seeing how Slash is one of her favorite humans on earth. Never, ever after seeing Slash with GnR back in 1992 at the Astrodome did I think I would hear or see Slash doing an old country and western Rock track but it worked. Scott Stevens the producer absolutely steered this album into a phenomenal direction.

Stand out tracks for me first started with the 1st track right out of the gate, "I Come Alive". I felt like I had walked into a beautiful stained glass cathedral with the sermon being sung to me. Holy Hell, what a climatic intro and forceful vocals! My mind went straight to BON JOVI's "Lay Your Hands on Me", the sermon-singing vibe breaking into the heavy messages in the songs, totally different I am aware but... IYKYK! Dorothy has said in several interviews she is really proud of this album because she believes there are lots of singles on it and I believe it is as well. One single is the collaboration featuring Slash, "Tombstone Town". Dorothy had been wanting to work with Slash and asked him to choose one of the tracks. He chose "Tombstone Town" and she was elated because she was already seeing her vision and picturing the video. These two have great musical chemistry. The song is a badass old western outlaw feel. Another standout is "Mud on Ya". This is one of my absolute favorites. I fell in love with some of the lyrics on this one. Take a guess why? "Now if your crown ain't bent and your halo ain't crooked yet you might as well be six feet in dirt, yeah some call it danger, some call it trouble. I call it digging deep without a shovel." A good message we can all relate to. We get kicked down but pick ourselves up again. This one I listened to on repeat. The last standout I have to mention is the title track "The Way". This was a soulful, sultry ballad. It was testimony so to speak about recovery. Just a gorgeous and prepossessing song.

Dorothy has spoken openly about her struggles but says her faith shifted things and it's obvious with this whole album. She has some honest, raw and unwavering lyrics throughout it. Her raspy alto voice sucks you in at times. Dorothy and the band achieved a fantastic album that crosses genres and shows how multitalented they all are. No, it's not a Christian rock album but Dorothy's vulnerability and obvious sincerity throughout this project is going to appeal to her fans and a myriad of new fans to come.

5.0 Out Of 5.0